Meet Meryl

Today I became the proud owner of my first chicken. She’s white. I named her Meryl. I received her from my friend Nouhan, who gives me rides to and from the bigger city to the South for free in his SUV. When he was giving it to me (he bought it in my town today as we were having market day today), he said it was because I had said I wanted eggs last time he brought me home and then he told me to prepare the chicken well like an American would but I wasn’t sure if he meant the chicken or her eggs. I can’t kill a chicken and I got attached to her once I named her Meryl (it just happened, I wasn’t consciously trying to think up a name, hell I didn’t even know if I was going to keep her!), so I am gonna keep her for her eggs. Which apparently she will start to produce in my house after 3-4 weeks.

So here’s how you acclimate a pet chicken: tie their feet together so they can’t run off. Put them in your house for three days, you know, until they start to sympathize with their captors. Give them a handful of rice in the morning and a handful of rice at night, followed by water. After 3 days, put them outside. They will come back every night around 6pm. If she doesn’t come back it means she is shacking up with a rooster and you have to go find her. She sleeps in the house. The end.

Right now she is in an old USPS Flat Rate box which once contained awesome items from the States. She occasionally complains and flaps around but for the most part is quiet. She does not like Yogi. Yogi wants to sniff her all the time but as long as she is not running around squawking, he isn’t trying to bite her. Now, I need to create a house for Meryl outside. Not because I would mind having her in the house, but she probably won’t want to stay in the house with Yogi and I also leave once a month and she wouldn’t be able to get inside while I’m gone. So, outdoor house it is. Tomorrow I have to ask around about how exactly to construct such a thing (I know they exist, lots of people have them).

Today the Sous Prefet’s family put most of their belongings on a transport truck to be taken away, including five 50 kilo rice sacks of dried manioc. The SP still has not returned from Conakry but is supposed to get here tomorrow. I am really sad they will be leaving for good on Saturday. I took pictures of them today and gave them the presents I bought them in Labe, which went over really well.

Madame Bangoura is sad to be leaving but I can tell from what she says that she is starting to warm to the idea of moving to a big city like Conakry, where she can talk on the phone, watch TV, visit friends, go to soccer matches at the stadium, go to a half a dozen different markets, etc… She remarked how in our village she just sits on the porch and watches the day go by. I told her in English we call it “people watching”. I told her I would come and do it with her all day tomorrow since it will be my last chance.

Today I realized that she is one of only three women who speak French in my village. There’s her, Madame Fofana (whom I already wrote has left for Kindia and it is not known if she shall return) and Rama. Rama works for an NGO and isn’t in town more than half the month, usually less. The matron, Oumou, speaks a little French but it is very limited, where as I could converse freely with Madame Bangoura and Madame Fofana.

This lights a fire under my butt to start studying my Pular because who wants to talk to dudes all the time?

Anyway it feels like everybody’s leaving, many for good and some just for the vacance but basically what I’m left with is a rather dull summer. Guess that frees me up to study my Pular.